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Endorses Graham

The race

Scottsdale elects its council at large, and three seats were up in 2026. In the July 21 primary, incumbent Solange Whitehead won one seat outright. Nobody else cleared the bar, so the remaining two seats are decided in this November 3, 2026 runoff among three candidates.

How vote-for-2 works: your ballot lists all three names and you may vote for up to two — one, two, or none; voting for three is an overvote and counts for no one in this race. When the votes are counted, the top two finishers win the two seats. There is no separate contest for each seat, which is why candidates run as tickets: a vote for a pair is a vote to seat them together.

The primary order, per Scottsdale Progress reporting of the results: Michelle Ugenti-Rita finished second and Barry Graham third (23,565 votes, 14.5%). Bob Littlefield finished fourth (22,091, 13.6%) and qualified for the runoff, then withdrew in early August to avoid splitting the vote among his political allies, Graham and Ugenti-Rita. Raoul Zubia finished fifth (21,897, 13.5%) and took the last runoff slot.

The verified roster is: Barry Graham, Michelle Ugenti-Rita, and Raoul Zubia.

The candidates

Barry Graham (incumbent) is a south Scottsdale resident who lives near Old Town, a certified public accountant, and a Republican elected to the council in 2022, per azcentral. In his voter-pamphlet statement, quoted by Scottsdale Progress, he says: "You deserve an ideology-free City Council accountable to you — not special interests. That's why I've spent the last four years protecting neighborhoods, defending our open spaces, supporting public safety, and carefully scrutinizing how the city spends your tax dollars." He and Ugenti-Rita are running on a joint conservative platform against high-density development. One claim of his campaign does not survive checking, and we print the check: Graham has argued the city lacks water for thousands more apartments, and called the contrary position "propaganda" and a "myth." Scottsdale's own water officials told city leaders that apartments and condos use far less water than single-family homes, per azcentral's fact-check reporting. His anti-density position is a legitimate values position; the water rationale he attaches to it is disputed by the city's own water staff.

Michelle Ugenti-Rita is a lifelong Scottsdale resident and commercial real estate agent, per azcentral. She is a Republican state lawmaker by record: the Arizona House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018 and the Arizona Senate from 2018 to 2022 — 12 years in the Legislature. Her voter-pamphlet statement begins: "I am a lifelong Republican running for City Council because we stand at a pivotal moment… As a proven conservative and proud native of Scottsdale, I understand what makes our city exceptional, and what is at stake if we lose our way." She runs jointly with Graham against overdevelopment.

Raoul Zubia is a south Scottsdale resident who previously worked in banking as a branch manager and mortgage loan underwriter, and now serves on the boards of various charitable organizations, per azcentral. He is a self-described political moderate, ran for the council in 2022 and finished sixth of seven, and campaigns on limiting growth while advocating for the city's advanced water purification project. His pamphlet statement: "I am running to secure our water, protect our neighborhoods, the Preserve and restore respect to the City Council." At the October Republic forum he positioned himself as the civility candidate against the Graham–Ugenti-Rita ticket.

Pros / Cons

OUR CALL

Seat 1: endorse Barry Graham. Seat 2: endorse Michelle Ugenti-Rita.

Vote for both. The basis is stated and sourced: Graham is an incumbent accountant whose own stated record is protecting neighborhoods, defending open space, supporting public safety, and scrutinizing how the city spends tax dollars — and Ugenti-Rita brings 12 years as a proven conservative lawmaker plus commercial real estate experience to the same anti-overdevelopment ticket. Property owners in Scottsdale are not obligated to accept every density a developer proposes, and these two are the candidates on the record saying so. We endorse Graham despite his water claim, not because of it: the claim fails the city's own staff's facts, and we have printed that failure above so voters weigh the man with open eyes. Zubia's civility pitch and water-recycling advocacy are real, but he offers moderation as a mood where the other two offer a record.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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